Having traditions is so important because, according to Smartt, traditions offer security, provide comforting memories, make life sparkle, remind us what matters, make our values real, connect us to others, and shower love. Through 12 chapters, Smartt provides ideas, examples from her own life, and reasons why it's worth it to cook a big meal for your family or involve your children in volunteer opportunities or even go on a spontaneous adventure with your kids. Sure, some advance planning will be required (except for the spontaneous traditions), and that's definitely what prevents me from doing more, but if we just wrap our heads around what we want to do, we CAN figure out what needs to be done ahead of time to make it happen.
Probably the most important takeaway from this book was that you don't have to do ALL the things and your traditions don't have to be expensive and big. Sometimes it's nice to keep things simple, especially if you're on a budget or just going through a rough period in your life. The book is just a list of suggestions, "not a must-do manual". An appendix offers even more ideas for traditions to implement in your family, and a separate section answers common questions some moms might have about making traditions work given certain circumstances: lack of money, loss of a loved one, and divorce.
Because the author is Christian, the book takes a faith-based approach and even includes chapters on faith and Sunday traditions. But I think that even secular families can find some good ideas in this book.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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